


Heartbeat

by Akiko_Natsuko



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Near Death, Protectiveness, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Ignis’s heartbeat really was a beautiful sound, Noctis thought, as he was swept along by the rhythm of it. It took him a moment or two to realise that something was wrong, that it wasn’t the familiar drumbeat that had kept him company on the nights when the nightmares had driven him to seek comfort in the arms of one of the few constants still left in his life. It was rapid, more like a call to arms than a peaceful song, and he shifted, suddenly uneasy, reaching for Ignis, not sure whether it was to offer comfort or receive reassurance.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47
Collections: Ignoct Secret Santa 2019





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord [The Unholy Trinity](https://discord.gg/vxTVpefYyB).

_We shouldn’t have come here…_

There were a dozen thoughts running through Noctis’ mind as he ducked beneath the swing of the Magitek swordsman looming in front of him, feeling the edge of it draw a line of fire beneath his shoulders, as his power surged and he switched from sword to daggers, driving them into a seam in the armour that had already been weakened by one of the others. But that thought was dominant, especially as he glanced at the others just in time to see Gladio pulling Prompto up off the ground for the second time in as many moments, his friends’ complexion ashen as he staggered, threatening to fall before he managed to catch himself. Gladio was covering him, but the older man was bloody too, and there was a slight hesitation to his swings now that spoke of deeper injuries, although it didn’t stop the devastation he caused as the massive blade encountered another Magitek soldier, leaving it sparking and collapsing to the ground.

“We need to get out of here,” Ignis was at his side, breathing heavily, but seemingly in one piece as Noct looked at him, a knot that he hadn’t been aware of easing in his chest. _He’s okay._ Noctis nodded in agreement to the words, not wholly trusting his voice as the relief hit him, instead sliding past Ignis and parrying a blow aimed at his back, before spinning and deflecting volley of gunfire, before one of Ignis’ knives buried itself in one eye, sending the rifleman reeling until it collapsed off the edge of the rock it had claimed for a vantage point. The noise it made when it crashed into the ground was something human, and yet not at the same time, and Noctis shivered at the sound, before pressing back, moving to cover Ignis as the other man took down another rifleman.

Then they were moving, back to back, a whirl of deadly blades as they tried to forge a path back to the other two. More than one hit got through their defences, even with the synchronicity they had after the long weeks on the run, and Noct’s efforts redoubled whenever he felt Ignis flinch or stagger. If nothing else had come from their adventures, it had driven home Gladio’s lessons in a way that their sessions in the training room could never have done, and he was half instinct, and half protective fury as he staved off another attack that would have downed Ignis if it had hit home. “Ignis.” In a move perfected long ago, Ignis turned, a deadly whirlwind as he buried his smaller knives in half a dozen targets, the blades lighting up in the back of Noctis’ mind like beacons, and he followed them, warping across the distance between himself and the first, felling them in a single strike and already moving on before they had hit the ground.

As he struck the final one, he spun, intending to finish things. But weariness, or sheer bad luck through his aim off just enough for its halberd to come up inside his guard, and at that speed and distance there was no time for him to disengage. It didn’t stop him from trying, twisting in mid-air and trying to warp up to a higher point, and for a tantalising, second, he thought that he was going to make it, feeling the disorientating dislocation from reality that came from warping, but just before the sensation fully engulfed him the blade hit home. It burned. It froze. Metal and blood, and bone meeting and shifting, and it felt as though he was caught between reality and a nightmare for a moment, the pain present but strangely distant.

Then he fell.

He wasn’t sure what was worse, gravity pulling him downwards, off the edge of the blade that had sliced deeper than he cared to think across his front. Or the shuddering impact, as he struck the ground unable to do anything to soften the blow. The landing forced the air from his lungs, and a twisted, broken noise from his lips, and for a wild moment it felt as though his entire body had been sliced open, the sickening fire spreading until he thought that it was going to consume. Yet, even though the agony he was aware of movement above him, and the dull, echoing clank of metal shifting towards him. _The Magitek,_ he thought, fingers twitching, searching for a weapon…trying to warp…to call the Royal Arms… clinging to life, fighting for it. But his body wasn’t responding to his frantic commands, his strength a candle flame losing its fight against a raging gale, and despair coiled around him, just as there was a surge of something. A tugging at the back of his mind, someone pulling out a tendril of his failing power.

“Stay away from him.” Ignis. It was Ignis, his voice a soft snarl that Noctis had never heard before and wasn’t entirely sure wasn’t a figment of his imagination, as everything felt distant and slightly unreal right now as he blinked heavy eyes and tried to take in what was happening.

Ignis was towering over him, he realised as his vision cleared enough for him to make out a hazy impression of the familiar figure. Some part of him realised that Ignis was fighting, hearing other man grunting with effort, but all he could think as he blinked up at his protector’s back was that he was safe. It was almost enough to have him drifting away, ready to trust Ignis to take care of him. Almost. Because something was brushing at the edge of his thoughts, an awareness… a fear…and then Ignis was stumbling back too, nearly falling over him, and Noct saw red. A bright, arching sweep of crimson in the air.

He didn’t remember moving.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he had, because he had nothing left in him. And it hurt. Fire and ice, sweeping across his front, and he fought the urge to look down and take in the damage, knowing that if he did that, he would falter, and he couldn’t afford that. Not now, not with Ignis stumbling and grunting and barely managing to catch himself, and Noctis couldn’t make out how badly the other man was hurt through blurring eyes, which only added to his panic. _I can’t lose anyone else._ It had been the others, but especially Ignis, who had held him together after losing his father, his home…the life that he had been so complacent about when they had first set out on this road trip. It was them that he fought for. It was for them that he was changing, honing himself into the King they wanted and needed. And it was for them, that he was standing, his body barely upright and his power and life flickering at the edges, and vision dimming.

“Ignis…” He whispered, not recognising his own voice. It seemed to rouse the others – he could hear Gladio and Prompto shouting something, loud and panicked, although the words were unable to break through the haze that gripped him. Ignis was saying something too, much closer and even that was lost to him, but just the fact that he could hear him, that he was alive and speaking gave him the last bit of strength he needed.

Noctis wasn’t sure he would ever get used to the sensation of using the Royal Arms. It was different from the rest of his abilities, it ran deeper, carried further. It was vast and terrifying. Wild, and raging and yet somehow willing to bend to his will, as though he was worthy. As though he was becoming the man his father had been. It had always caved to his will. Today though it surged to his command, and he felt the air shift around him as the weapons materialised. He could always feel them, an awareness that he couldn’t escape or describe, but even that was changed. Heightened. As though he was as much a part of them, as they were of him. He felt their edges. Their past. Their bloodlust, that mirrored his…no, that was an extension of his. The need to fight, to protect. For himself, for the others.

For Ignis.

It was the work of a moment, not even a thought but a breath, an instinct and the weapons flew through the air. He felt, rather than saw the first of them hit, as though he had thrust it through metal with his own two hands, cutting down the Magitek soldier that had dared to lay a hand on Ignis with a ferocity that should have scared him. It didn’t, and he didn’t stop there. The weapons were dancing now, and his mind was in the midst of the chaos, shifting and dancing. He wasn’t Noctis at that moment, he was something more. Something bigger and darker and deadlier. Blood and vengeance honed to a dangerous edge.

_Protect them. Protect Ignis._

_Kill the Magitek…_

Something brushed against him in the maelstrom. Something that wasn’t blood and death, or the same cold-fire still burning deep in his chest, but soft, and warm. Alive. Gentle, no not gentle…tender. There were fingers, and he wasn’t sure whether they were real or not, wrapping around his shoulders. He didn’t need to turn, or see, to know who it was. _Ignis._ As though to confirm his awareness, the fingers tightened, burning through the honed blade he had become. “Noct.” He could hear Ignis this time, the words cutting through everything with the same force of purpose that his Royal Arms had sliced through the Magitek soldiers. _I’m here, I’m listening…_ He was there. He wasn’t sure whether it was the words, the fingers on his shoulders, or the warm body pressed against his back that was grounding him, but he was coming back to himself, back to the aching, broken mess that was his body. It was enough to make him hesitate, and retreat, threatening to slip back into that space between the blades, an unbroken weapon. “Noctis, look at me.”

It wasn’t a command, it was a plea, and that stopped Noct’s stubbornness from rearing its ugly head, and he blinked, catching a dizzying, distorted view of the space in front of him. Then Ignis was shifting, still holding onto his shoulders, but moving around to his front, filling his view. _Ignis._ There were worry and concern in the green eyes, that seemed more vivid than usual against the fading blur that was his vision, and Noct took a shuddering breath and released it in a rush. Now, he was himself again. Flesh and bone, and bleeding heavily he realised, lifting his eyes to meet Ignis for a moment before he crumpled, a blade made human, a king made mortal. “Ig…” He tried, he really did, but everything was slipping away from him now, and he would have fallen to the floor if arms hadn’t caught him and lowered him gently, mindful of his wounds, and even though some part of him knew that it had to be Ignis, still he reached out, needing to be certain.

“Noct!” He was being cradled now, warmth embracing him. The fingers were shifting too, one arm still wrapped around him, while the other fingers tapped his cheek. “Noctis, I need you to look at me.” This time it was a command, but for all the steel, it was as warm as the concern from before and Noctis was helpless before it, melting before it, and he obediently tried to open his eyes. Not entirely sure when he had closed them in the first place. It was harder than it should have been, and he frowned, a wrongness seeping in now that he was aware of it, and with it came a wave of pain, and he must’ve whimpered, but it was lost in a fresh burst of pain as he turned towards Ignis’s warmth, seeking shelter from it. _Please, Ignis…_ This wasn’t something he could fight with the edge of a blade, or alone, but Ignis was there, murmuring soft reassurances.

“Ignis, here...” Gladio was there too, a shield against the darkness trying to steal him away, and then there were fingers in his hair, just a brief touch. Light as a summer breeze, and he knew that Prompto was there too although he didn’t hear his best friend’s voice. He tried to speak then, not sure what he wanted to say but needing to fight against the darkness, but just as he had managed to open his mouth, cold glass was pressed against his lips.

“Drink,” Ignis was urging him, back to pleading, although the steel lingered beneath it. Noctis wanted to obey, he really did, knowing that salvation lay in that bottle. He wanted to stay with them. To stay with Ignis, but he was failing, slipping away into shadows. _I’m sorry. Ignis, I…_ The world was fading, even Ignis’s warmth seemed further away, and that terrified him, his fingers twitching and curling as tight as he could manage as he found the material of Ignis’s shirt, damp with… his thoughts skittered away from what it was and focused on the fact that even as everything else slipped away, he could feel the rapid rise and fall of Ignis’ chest, and he knew that if he was closer, he would be able to hear the other man’s heartbeat. It would have been a nice sound to drift off to, and he was drifting off…but not to the sound of Ignis’ heartbeat, but to the sound of his voice, raised in desperation. Pleading. Begging with him to hold on.

_I’m sorry…_

_*_

_Ignis’s heartbeat really was a beautiful sound,_ Noctis thought, as he was swept along by the rhythm of it. It took him a moment or two to realise that something was wrong, that it wasn’t the familiar drumbeat that had kept him company on the nights when the nightmares had driven him to seek comfort in the arms of one of the few constants still left in his life. It was rapid, more like a call to arms than a peaceful song, and he shifted, suddenly uneasy, reaching for Ignis, not sure whether it was to offer comfort or receive reassurance. It didn’t matter, because fingers met his halfway, warm and tender, tangling them together and then pulling them close until their linked hands were pressed against that heartbeat that still wasn’t quite right, but seemed to be settling back into the familiar pattern.

“Noct.” There were lips against his forehead too now, warm and tender, the simple touch seeming to chase out the chill that he was only now aware of. “Noctis, are you with me?” Noctis hummed, confused by the question, of course, he was with Ignis. “Then look at me p-please.” There was something painfully familiar about the plea, but not about the way Ignis’ voice cracked and broke on the last word, the heartbeat which had been settling back into its usual rhythm jumping beneath his ear. He shifted, curling into the sound, chasing it, even as he blinked. It felt like he was waking from a long sleep, eyes heavy and slow to focus, but when they did, the first thing that he saw was Ignis staring down at him. Haunted, and worried, relieved and loving all at once. It was an expression that made his heartache, and he moved, stiffly he realised, feeling the echo of pain in his chest as he lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Ignis and reached up to touch a pale cheek, startled to feel dampness beneath his searching fingers.

“I-Ignis…” It hurt to speak, and he could taste blood, but he didn’t care, because Ignis’ expression had broken for a moment, crumbling under the force of such relief that it took Noctis’ breath away. But not as much as the smile that followed, not the small one that he gave the rest of the world, but the larger, warmer one that was just for Noct.

“You came back…” Ignis whispered, and Noctis frowned, his mind beginning to catch up with him now, as the pain in his chest persisted and he shifted, tearing his gaze away from Ignis for a moment to glance down. His breath catching as he took in the torn and tattered shirt, broken skin that was partially knit back together and the blood… his blood, too bright against pale skin, and dark against Ignis’s front, as though the other man had.

_Oh…_

His fingers tightened around Ignis’ as he slowly tore his gaze away from the sight, lifting his head, realising that Prompto and Gladio were there too, giving them space, but watching him with eyes that echoed Ignis’ gaze. He ignored them for now, although he would pull them close soon, and instead, he turned his attention back to Ignis. “I…” His voice was the one to break this time, trembling as he realised how close it had been. How close he had come to losing the heartbeat beneath his ear, to leaving Ignis and the others behind, and it was only Ignis’ fingers curling tighter around his, that grounded him and gave him the focus he needed. “I’m back…”


End file.
